The PK and the Punk
by HappyHues
Summary: Will grew up in small town Delphi all his life known as the P.K., also known as the preacher's kid. His main goal is to become a doctor and get through senior year without snapping at the new kid, Nico Di Angelo. It isn't until the teacher pairs them up for an assignment do things go downhill.
1. Chapter 1

The P.K. and the Punk

Health and Biology were Will's favorite classes, he discovered at an early age. He was 8 years old by the time he began watching the Health and Fitness channel, admiring the doctors on screen. Once when he was playing on the monkey bars in the third grade, he had fallen and earned a broken ankle. He had to be carried to the school nurse, his hands scraped and his face was a mess of tears. The nurse had kept him calm and stayed with him until the ambulance arrived, cooing sweet phrases of comfort. Will could've sworn he saw a white glowing gas around her head, and had the impression she was an angel. Once he was old enough, he wrote it off as a hallucination. It was because of her he came to a firm conclusion that he wanted to become a doctor. For now, however, he must make it through senior year and refrain from attacking the new kid in the least saintly way possible.

Nico Di Angelo transferred to small town Delphi from Italy. He arrived in all his spunky and obnoxious glory, taking the reserved town by storm. No one was sure why he came here of all places, because who ever heard of Delphi? On his third day of being at residence, rumors began to spread. Some were reasonable guesses and others were outrageously unbelievable. ' _I heard his father is a mafia boss'_ and ' _he's so bad, the country kicked him out.'_ The most asinine of all was ' _he was sent by the devil himself to wreck the town and seduce the women.'_

Will doubted Nico was a demon, but he did get irritated with him. Currently, Will sat behind the new kid in class, trying to focus on the Health teacher. For this unit, everyone had to learn about home situations and early child development, which Will was eager to learn about. Despite that eager anticipation, he couldn't focus, he couldn't wrap his mind around the material. His eyes kept drifting to the 17 year old in front of him.

Even now, Nico was grating on Will's nerves. The foreigner was leaning back in his chair, arm slung across the back nonchalantly. He had an air about him, a mood that said he couldn't care less. His GPA was at stake, his scholarship even. Will was certain Nico didn't care about his future from the way he picked at his nails and doodled in his notebook. His dark clothing was a stain, obscuring the picture of classroom perfection. _No one_ dressed the way he did.

Will scrutinized Nico's clothing, eyes traveling from the aviator jacket, to his too tight skinny jeans, to the combat boots scuffing the tile. What really promotes the demon conspiracy was the amount of death symbols the Italian accessorized himself with. A skull ring could always be found adorning his slender right hand. He often wore skeleton themed t-shirts and his common color scheme was almost always black. To a town built on Christian faith, he looked as though he was constantly mourning or summoning evil spirits, possibly both. Will knew he shouldn't care whether or not Nico became successful, but he did. The blond then decided to do something about it.

Will ripped a piece of paper from his notebook and began scrawling _Pay Attention To The Teacher_ in neat handwriting. When the teacher had her back to the class, he tossed the crumpled paper onto the boy's desk. Nico jerked to attention, startled from the paper's sudden appearance. A couple kids tossed Will odd glances, wondering what he wanted from the school's notorious bad boy. Of course, Will didn't notice. He was too enveloped with trying to get the boy's attention.

Discreetly and quietly, Nico unraveled the paper under his desk. Will couldn't see his expression, but he assumed it was something akin to apathy or annoyance. Nico took a moment to search for his pencil before scrawling something short. The boy crumpled the paper before tossing it onto Will's desk over his shoulder.

Curiously, the blond unraveled the paper. To his horror, Nico hadn't used words. Instead, the boy had drawn a lewd image that virtually anyone from every nationality could understand. Will burned in embarrassment, quickly stuffing the paper in his hoodie pocket before anyone could see by some off chance. Will glared holes into the back of Nico's head, officially becoming pissed.

Will was too distracted, but had heard the teacher say his name at the end of a sentence. He looked up, startled. "Would you repeat that please?" He asked, sitting up attentively. The older woman glanced up from the clipboard she was reading off of. Clearing her throat, she pushed her thick glasses up her nose.

"For this project, a boy and girl must play the role as parents. Each pairing will be given a doll, which both designated parents will care for. I apologize for the unorthodox pairing, but there was an uneven ratio between girls and boys. You and Nico Di Angelo will be paired, but one of you must decide who the mother must be." She said.

"Why?" Nico spoke, catching the teacher off guard.

"Why what?" She asked, perplexed.

"Why does one of us have to be the mother?" Nico clarified, his accent thick.

"Because two men cannot produce children." She explained simply.

"Can't we just pretend we adopted?" The Italian pressed.

"No, because that sort of relationship is not school appropriate." The teacher was curt, an edge of warning in her voice.

"You mean you're homophobic." Nico corrected her. The whole class held their breath. No one brought up these sorts of things in school, much less talk back to the teacher. "As men, we will become fathers, not mothers. I would prefer you to train us as such." The teacher's face turned pink, her ears burning and her stance rigid. She looked as though she was about to burst, but Will quickly intervened.

"I'll be the mother. Really, it's no issue." He cut through the tension. The teacher stood in place for a solid few moments, debating on what she should do or say, if it was even worth sending her student to the principal's office.

"Thank you, Will. There's a bin of dolls on my desk, please choose one and sit with your partner." She said, articulating her words choppily. Surprisingly, Nico was off the hook. She began reading off more names to be partnered as the blond made his way to the bin. He took the first doll he saw and held it to himself as though it were a breathing sentient being. He walked briskly towards his desk so that he could push it next to Nico's. Awkwardly, he avoids eye contact with the other.

"These dolls have timers in them, so they'll cry after random time frames. The only way you get them to stop is to bounce them lightly or feed them with the bottles I'm passing out now. For two weeks, you and your spouse will take turns taking home the baby. You will both have to come up with a name for it and treat as though it were real, do you understand?" She said, placing a milk bottle especially forcefully in front of Nico. In return, she received a collective 'yes ma'am's from the classroom. "Needless to say, if you return your child in a less than perfect condition, your score will drop." She concluded, resting her hands on her hips. Then, the bell rang signaling the end of class. Before Will could say anything, Nico was up and out of the classroom.

Will fumbled around with his backpack, trying to collect his things and catch up with his partner without dropping his doll- um, child. Will had items practically toppling out of his bag because he couldn't bother to zip it closed. His partner was moving way too fast for him.

"Nico!" Will called at the boy's back. He was certain he dropped a notebook or two while struggling through the throng of students brushing past him. Unsurprisingly, Nico only seemed to pick up his speed. Will followed him until they were at the top of the school steps, then he decided to call for the Italian one last time.

"Nico Di Angelo you are NOT walking out on this family. Turn your skinny jean butt around this instant!" The boy in black paused, as if contemplating facing his partner or just keep walking. He jammed his fists into his jacket pockets before turning around with a smirk playing his lips.

"So you admit to looking at my ass?" He was only a foot away from Will's face now, his lips upturned in a smirk. Will's breathing constricted, the other boy invading his personal space bubble.

"What- no, that's not the point." The blond said, becoming flustered. "We should actually plan things out, you know, get things organized. We haven't even named the doll yet." The raven haired boy raised an eyebrow.

"It's just a doll, there's not much to it. I'm sure you can handle that much by yourself." He looked down at the smaller boy, a frown tugging at his lips slightly.

"I don't care if you don't want to participate, you will earn the grade we get." Will tried to level his voice so the other could understand the seriousness of the situation.

"I have a proposition for you, Solace. How about you take care of our sweet little angel, tidy up the house, and put up that white picket fence. Meanwhile, I go on a two week business trip. Does that sound good to you sweetheart?" Will clenched his jaw, his rising blood pressure practically palpable. What Nico proposed was all too familiar, hitting close to home.

"No, that doesn't sound good to me at all, _babe_ ," Will spat, "We're in this together, like it or not. So you better take a two week vacation from work or else I'll strap you to the bed because I will _not_ be abandoned again." Will seethed, staring the boy down despite the Italian being significantly taller. Nico had actually stepped down a step or two in amazement, making the blond taller for once.

"Strap me down to the bed? I didn't take you for the type, William." Nico teased.

"You're avoiding the subject." Will deadpanned.

"Alright, I'll help with the whole parenting thing," Nico conceded, "but on one condition." The raven haired boy grinned maliciously, throwing the blond off for a moment. Will was adamant to not let his partner slip out of his grasp. For the first several months of school, he had to watch Nico act as though he was above the lessons, as though he was "too cool for school" and it was the most irritating act of rebellion Will had to witness. He was not going to let the other boy slither out of this one.

"What is it?" He asked, wary of the others' conditions.

"Treat me as though I'm your legitimate husband. That means date nights and kisses." The Italian said in all seriousness, his teasing demeanor dropped. Will's jaw unhinged, rendering him speechless. The other boy looked away, shifting his weight from one foot to the other in uncomfortable silence. Regardless, he still managed to pull off the apathetic facade. For Will, his brain functioned like a pending webpage. Metaphorically speaking, he was slower than Internet Explorer on a good day. Nico, having had enough of the lack of conversation, began to walk away, but was jerked back by a hand clasping his shoulder.

"I agree to your terms." Will said, words tumbling out before he could process them. Was he going to risk an eternity of Hell just to pass a class? Apparently the answer is yes. A look of surprise flickered across Nico's eyes before he eased back into his cocky conduct. "But this will stay a secret between us. If my dad finds out, he'll put me in counseling for months. He won't care that it's pretend." The teen said, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was eavesdropping.

"Don't worry, babe. I'll protect our secret." He said, throwing an arm around Will's shoulder, his touch caused Will to tense.

"That includes no PDA." Will said, muscles rigid.

"What are you talking about? This is totally a platonic bro hug." The Italian defended, the two began walking down the steps and towards the student parking lot. Nico lead him to a sleek black sports car, which stood out from the surrounding old pickup trucks and minivans like a sore thumb. Of course it belonged to the new kid, who else would blow off their money on something so blatantly expensive?

"You own a sports car?" Will said, although it came out more of a statement. "Seriously, how rich is your family?" Will asked as Nico popped open the trunk so they could toss their bags in it. Nico shrugged.

"Rich enough to afford a sports car." He answered vaguely.

"What are their jobs?" Will pushed, getting into the passenger seat. Around here, everyone knew everyone, and as far as Will knew, the mother just shopped and the father rarely left the house.

"I don't see how talking about my parents make an interesting conversation." Nico said, becoming visibly unhappy as he turned on the ignition, it began to growl to life. Will realized he was touching a sensitive subject, so he decided to look into it later.

"Where are you taking me?" He was becoming wary. His imagination began to race, all sorts of scenarios came across his mind and none of them were pleasant.

"We're going on our first date." Nico said it as though it were obvious. Will was amazed at how straightforward the Italian was being.

"Already?" Will asked, feeling unprepared. Even though it was an act, he couldn't help but fight the fluttering in his stomach. He wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but he wanted to get the two weeks over with as quickly as possible.

"Technically it isn't a date, considering we still have the doll, but I have nowhere to be at the moment, so we might as well organize days on who watches over it and whatever. Starbucks sound good to you?" He asked as he tore out of the school zone.

"Yeah, that's fine." He said, his nerves settling. He sat in his seat stiffly, almost certain that he would break something if he so much as breathed the wrong way.

"So you drive to school or what?" Nico inquired.

"I walk. My home isn't that far from the school." Will said, unsure why Nico would want to know his routine. Nico must've picked up on his wariness because he began to explain himself.

"I was just making sure you weren't making someone wait on you or if I needed to drop you off at the the school parking lot afterwards." Will couldn't help but be touched. Was Nico actually being considerate of another human being? He must be dreaming. That was the most plausible explanation.

"Everything is fine. Thanks for asking, though." He replied, suppressing a pleased grin. The drive wasn't too long, the cafe was only several blocks away. With a reckless jerk of the wheel, Nico parked with perfect precision. When they walked inside, it was an odd image. The preacher's kid hanging out with the caliginous Italian while holding a doll was taken by surprise, causing a few people to stare. Will swallowed the lump forming in his throat and followed his partner to order.

Nico scrutinized the menu, eyes lingering on the list of pastries while the blond already knew what he wanted. Around this time of year, winter was approaching and the more seasonal beverages were making an appearance. "I'll have a tall pumpkin spice, please." He ordered, not bothering to tell the worker, Piper, his name. They already knew each other from school and even then he would've known her because she was in the church's choir.

"Sure thing, Will. Would that be all?" She asked, eyes darting towards the boy in black warily. He could read her expression and it read, _blink twice if you're being held against your will_. The blond gave her a small smile to assure her everything was fine.

"Yeah, that's it for me. I dunno about Nico though," he said, glancing at his partner. The boy in question realized the attention was on him and he snapped out of his indecisive stupor.

"I'll have a cinnamon roll and a tall vanilla latte."

"It'll be ready in just a moment." She said, excusing herself.

"Pumpkin spice? That's pretty girly if you ask me." Nico said as they sat down with their orders.

"Well I didn't ask you, so kindly screw off. Secondly, that's pretty hypocritical considering you ordered a vanilla latte. That sounds like something only a guy from some adolescent girl's cliche fanfiction would order." Will shot back.

"Touche," Nico amended, cutting into his cinnamon roll with a fork and knife. "So what should we name it?"

"Excuse me?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"The chunk of plastic you're cradling so lovingly," he snarked, pointing at the doll with his knife, "what should we name it?" Will looked down to realize he was holding it as though it were a sentient being.

"Considering it's in pink clothes, we'll say it's a girl," the blond concluded, "how about Mabel?" Nico made a face.

"That sounds like an old lady's name. I'm gonna have to veto that." He dismissed the suggestion.

"Brittney?"

"Too pretentious." Nico shook his head. Will shot the raven haired boy a glare that said _are-you-kidding-me_.

"I thought you didn't care about what we named it," the blond griped. Strangely, Nico went from indifferent to interested in a matter of minutes. Not too long ago, he would have left Will stranded with the responsibility.

"Well if you're going to force me into participating, I might as well make it as hard on you as possible." He defended himself. Not wanting to argue, Will decided to let it slide.

"What do you suggest, then? I pass the proverbial baton to you, I'd like to see you come up with the perfect name on the spot." Will snarked. Nico stared deeply into his hands, thinking for a moment before lifting his gaze.

"Bianca. I want to name her Bianca." Will was about to shoot it down when he saw a peculiar shift in Nico's behavior. His shoulders were stiff and his hands were clasped tightly. If Will hadn't caught these key differences, he wouldn't have been able to guess something was wrong. Despite not liking his partner, he wasn't a big enough prick to deny Nico this. Besides, if he develops an attachment to the doll, it could make caring for it easier.

"It's a pretty name." Will admitted out loud, noticing Nico's shoulders release a fraction of tension. "Why that name though?" He asked, crossing his fingers that he wasn't overstepping an unspoken boundary.

"Like you said. It sounds pretty." Nico said, clearly not wanting to discuss it. Will decided it was best not to push the subject. Whoever inspired him to choose the name Bianca played a pretty personal role in his life.

"I guess since we're "married", we should get to know each other better." Will said, making eye contact with the other briefly before looking away. A wave of embarrassment radiated off of the blond, internally berating himself for even thinking that sentence.

"What would you like to know?" Nico lent forward, arms crossed on top of the shared table.

"What music do you listen to?" He asked the first topic that came to mind.

"Anything loud and fast," the other stated,"like Nirvana, Metallica, and Skrillex. Those are just the American examples, though." That didn't come as much of a surprise to Will, considering Nico dressed as though he was stuck in his rebellious teen phase everyday. He couldn't suppress the knowing grin that somehow formed without his permission. Nico raised an eyebrow.

"What's with that look on your face? Did I say something funny?" He questioned, either self conscious or angry, Will couldn't tell.

"No, it's just that I don't know why I would expect anything different from you." He admitted, his grin becoming sheepish.

"I guess I can see why you would think that. Now onto you, before you tell me, let me guess. You listen to country and gospel." Nico stated, confident in his prediction.

"Actually, you're partially right. I listen to gospel on Sundays and country isn't a favorite, but I like it. I'm a fan of musicals, mainly. Name one Disney song and I'm sure to know all the lyrics." Usually people, especially people of the masculine gender, would be reluctant to admit they were a Disney fan. Will definitely wasn't one of those people. He took pride in knowing all the words to Let It Go so shut up.

"That's even worse," Nico said, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. You can enjoy your angst-y music all you want, I won't judge." Will said, waving his hand in a go-ahead gesture. "It's your turn to ask a question." Nico looked perplexed, not prepared with a question.

"I don't know- um, do you have allergies?" Nico asked awkwardly.

"Only to bees. It's redundant, considering I like the outside so much." Will said, resting his head in the palm of his hand. "What about you?"

"Nothing I know of. I guess eating new foods is a lot like a lethal game of roulette." Nico said, shrugging.

"My turn to ask a question," Will said, already having one in mind. "What's your family like?"

"Why would you want to know that? This is only the first date, don't you think you're pushing it a little?" Nico said, bringing his crossed arms closer to his body.

"If you want to get technical, you're my husband for the next two weeks. Don't talk to me about pushing anything." Will joked.

"If you really want to know, it'll cost you." Nico warned.

"Name your price." Will said, becoming more interested in the boy than ever.

"A kiss." He smirked. The blond was momentarily taken aback. He had already agreed to treating Nico as though he were his husband, but it still felt too unreal. He could already hear his father's voice chastising him about the sin of homosexuality.

"Fine, but not here. There are too many people around." He said quietly so that no one could hear.

"I'm trusting you're a man of your word, Solace." Nico joked half heartedly. "All that you need to know is my mother and sister died about five years ago. Two years later, Dad was seeing another woman named Marie Levesque who already had a daughter, Hazel. They got married, and not too long after Marie died. Dad needed a fresh start, so we moved here where I have a cousin in the next town over." Nico was wringing his hands, eyes concentrated on them as though they held a precious secret. "So yeah, that's my family," he concluded bitterly.

"That's. . ." Will couldn't find the words, "that's deep. I'm sorry."

"Sorry won't bring them back." Nico snapped, hands curling into fists. His words came out harsher than they intended, causing Will to flinch in guilt. Nico, noticing the thick tension, looked up and tried to amend it. "But that's all water under the bridge now. It's not healthy to dwell on the past." Will gave a solemn nod.

"My mother, she. . ." Will licked his lips, trying to gather his words, "she abandoned me and my dad when I was four. I guess she felt oppressed. She didn't want to settle down and Dad wanted a safe small town for me. She stopped sending postcards when I was thirteen." His throat felt constricted. Everyone in town knew his family's story, Nico would have found out sooner or later.

"Fate is really shitty that way." Nico mumbled, looking into into his cup with a faraway look in his eyes. There was no 'I'm sorry' like Will often got, like what he had told Nico. It was the blunt and ugly truth.

"I really didn't mean to turn this into a pity party," Will smiled wryly. He wasn't expecting Nico to have such a depressing back story, and he certainly wasn't planning on telling his. He wasn't entirely sure what he was expecting, but after eliciting something so personal from the other boy, he felt obliged to say something.

"It's not an ideal first date, but the next one will be better." Nico promised, lightening the mood.

"Right, our completely _fake_ relationship." Will said, putting emphasis on fake. He felt uncomfortable pretending to have any romantic affairs with the same gender. But that wasn't the real issue. What made Will sick was that he wasn't completely opposed to it. It was suppose to be wrong, wrong, wrong. But he still found himself going along with it.

"So who takes Bianca home first?" Will asked, glancing at the doll who in turn stared up at him with glassy eyes. It was rather creepy, actually.

"It doesn't matter to me. We'll just trade her off after school and during the weekends," he said. "I'm going to need your number though." Will nodded, ignoring the odd feeling in his stomach. He searched for a paper and pen, but was stopped when his bicep was prodded. He looked up to see Nico holding a pen out to him.

"You can write it on my hand, I don't mind." He offered. Wordlessly, Will took the others' hand in his. Nico's hand was cold to the touch and slim, long enough to be described as the hands of a pianist. It made Will wonder if the other could play any instruments, and how little he knew about the new kid.

He tried being quick about it, but pens were sharp and this particular one was almost out of ink, so he had to press down for the numbers to be legible. He caught Nico wince and take a sharp breath, causing the blond to apologize sincerely. When Will was done, Nico retracted his hand. The blond almost missed having it in his embrace. Almost.

"I'll call you sometime tonight," Nico said, sitting back on his side of the booth. An awkward silence settled between the two as they focused on their drinks. Will began thinking up different ways he could start up a conversation. Usually he was a great conversationalist, but Nico made his stomach coil in ways he couldn't appropriately describe. It was a foreign feeling, but he labeled it something akin to contempt. Now that he was playing the role as the other boy's wife, the feeling began to grow considerably bigger.

"We should ask each other one question everyday," Will suggested, "that way we can get to know each other better."

"I like that idea. I-" Nico couldn't finish his sentence because his phone buzzed to life with a text. "I'm sorry, but I forgot I had to do something tonight. Would you like me to drive you home?"

"If you don't mind." Will said, gathering his things. "If you don't mind my asking, what is the 'something' you're doing tonight?"

"That's confidential, sorry." Nico smirked, seeing Will's look of mock disappointment.

"Alright, I can live with that. It's not like couples keep secrets from each other or anything." Will said, shrugging as though he didn't care to know.

"Maybe I'll tell you about it later." Nico said as an afterthought when they left the building. Will gave his partner directions to his house, wondering briefly if it were dangerous to let him know where he lived. He shook the thought out of his head when the car lurched to a stop in front of a familiar house. It was painted an obnoxious yellow, a sun decoration on the mailbox, and a cross on the door.

"Thank you for taking me home," Will cut through the silence, reaching for the door handle. He had a foot out the door before Nico grabbed Will's wrist.

"You're forgetting something," He chided, a slight upturn in his lips. It took the blond a moment before he understood what the other was inclining.

"Oh. _Oh,_ yeah," Will nervously leaned back into the car and sat uncomfortably. Was he supposed to initiate the kiss? Taking a deep breath, he moved towards the other boy until eventually he was close enough to close his eyes. Maybe if he used his imagination, he could pretend he wasn't committing a huge sin in front of his father's house and instead kissing a girl, a girl with raven hair and deep eyes.

The kiss was best described as short and chaste. Instead of finding plump lips as he imagined the fantasy girl to have, it was thin and dry, yet warm. There was no open mouths, no groans, and no pulling away with a pop. For a total of five seconds they made contact before Nico was surprisingly the first to pull away.

"I'll call you later tonight, babe." He smirked. Will, originally speechless, found his voice before scowling.

"Pet names better not be a reoccurring thing."

"Of course not, sugar." Nico teased before Will shut the car door and gathered his bag from the trunk. He noted that Nico didn't drive off until he had opened the door to his house, like how a man would after dropping off their date.

"I'm home." He called out, allowing his bag to slip off his shoulder and onto the floor. He kicked off his shoes and sat the doll on his couch before shuffling to the kitchen. After pouring himself a glass of iced tea, he made himself comfortable on the couch with the doll in his lap and the TV remote in hand. He flipped through channel after channel until choosing a show that documented crazy events that happen in an ER.

Normally he would work on homework, but luckily he wasn't assigned any for the weekend. For now, it was just him, the TV, and Bianca. His father was out God knows where, most probably preaching to a room full of homicidal prisoners. Yes, Will loved his father and admired his father's desire to better the world, but sometimes he could get a little overbearing.

Later that afternoon, Will's father, Apollo, came home with Chinese takeout. The two of them ate in the dining room, which was really just a table with two chairs in a secluded part of the kitchen. The third chair was thrown out a long time ago, before Will's dad swore off alcohol and had thrown the chair into the backyard in a fit of rage and other feelings of turmoil.

"From what I've heard, you made yourself a new friend today." Apollo said after blessing the food.

"Hm? Oh, you mean Nico." Will said, pausing his fork halfway from reaching his mouth. The first thing to learn about small towns is that news travels fast. For example, the wife of a farmer was given a speeding ticket on her way home. The cop had told the farmer's brother, who in turn called to tell the farmer before the wife made it to the house. Everyone in town was a gossiping snitch.

"Yes, that young Italian boy. It's so nice to hear you're making friends with him despite your differences. You should invite him to church sometime." He said, smiling proudly at his son.

"I'll ask him, but I won't promise you he'll say yes." Will admitted, pushing the fried noodles around the container. If Nico wanted to go to church, he would've gone by this point. Occasionally he would see Hazel, but that was about it.

"Nothing wrong with trying." Apollo said. A comfortable silence fell between the two as they finished their meal.

That night, as Nico had promised, Will got a call. They arranged to meet at the local movie theater to watch a horror comedy. Will wasn't entirely sure what it was called, but he was willing to see it so long as it wasn't a jump scare; he could handle blood and gore. It wasn't long after until he received a text from his friend, Lou Ellen.

 **Lou Ellen 8:42 PM** **-** _**wats up with u and nico all of a sudden**_

 **You 8:42 PM -** **nothing is up, we just went out to talk about who was going to take care of the doll for ms patterson s class**

 **You 8:43 PM-** **its not like i chose to be his partner**

 **Lou Ellen 8:43 PM -** **_i dunno there r rumors already spreading about u 2_ **

**You 8:44 PM -** **really? there is nothing to gossip about. what are people saying?**

 **Lou Ellen 8:45 PM -** _**just that u keep looking at him all the time. and then there s the whole him talking about gay relationships in class**_

 **Lou Ellen 8:46 PM-** _**Not that i have any problem with gay ppl or anything. it just makes ppl talk and i was wondering if u were keeping anything from me**_

 **Lou Ellen 8:46 PM-** **_but that s silly bcause u tell me everything_ **

Will wasn't sure what to do at this point. It hasn't even been 24 hours and amazingly there was already presumptions about his "relationship" with the new kid. He was tempted to text Nico to say he's given up on the deal, that he wanted to cut the ties with him now before things escalated too quickly. The deal was for two weeks and it's only been about 6 hours.

On the other hand, if they were careful about meeting up, it would cause less suspicion. That means arriving to meet at different times and no more glaring at the back of Nico's head. Who knew looking at someone for an excessive amount of time could be taken as admiration? Will took a moment to evaluate himself. Does he really like girls? They're pretty and they tend to smell nicer than boys. Would he screw a girl? The notion didn't make him uncomfortable, so that's a yes.

Then Will began to evaluate his opinions on boys. Does he like them? Well, he never fantasized about them, but he did have a few wet dreams over some famous male actors and a classmate of his. Was there merit in that? He had originally wrote it off as his mind being really twisted and never spoke to anyone about it. Would he screw a guy? Probably not, but Nico made Will feel like there was some sort of exception. There was something about his thick accent and flawless olive skin that was really attractive.

The biggest question at the moment remained. Should he tell Lou Ellen? Considering he trusted her with his life at this point in life, he'd say yeah, yeah he should. The problem was, he was already coming to terms with his sexuality and it would be even tougher admitting it to someone else. He kept typing and erasing, unable to bring himself to press send or find the correct words.

 **You 8:51 PM -** **i need to tell you something but not now. meet you at the yogurt shop tomorrow at 10?**

 **Lou Ellen 8:52 PM -** _ **should i be worried?**_

 **You 8:52 PM -** **no everything is fine**

 **Lou Ellen 8:53 PM-** _**kk see u then :]**_

Will set his phone on his nightstand and buried his face in his hands. Everything from today came crashing into him like a wave. Guilt wormed its way into his stomach as he thought of his father. What would his dad say? He won't say anything because he won't find out. Everything is fine.

 **(Author's Note: I enjoy this ship so much! Ah, I've been dying to find a story with a preachers kid!Will and bad boy!Nico or vice versa, but I haven't found any so far. So I decided to write one myself, but the issue is that I'm not really committed to writing. This took me two months to create and that's really sad, actually. I don't plan on continuing this mainly because it takes forever and it takes time for me to develop something that I deem half way decent enough to publish. So if anyone wants to take this idea and run with it, please do it and notify me so that I may read it. If there is already a story like this, I would be really grateful if you sent me a link or title of it and I will love you forever,**

 **Thank you)**


	2. Chapter 2

At first glance, Lou Ellen is best described as "the girl next door". She didn't have any physical traits that stood out, even her name wasn't something to be prized. However, what she lacked in natural appearance she made up for in personality. Even her clothing reflected her disposition, so whatever was in her head was displayed with colors and characters. She could be wearing a pair of Hello Kitty knee socks with a fluffy pink skirt one day, and the next it could be a down to earth assemble that attracted little to no attention at all.

Currently she reread the short conversation she had with Will last night. Maybe if she kept analyzing it, she could find some clue as to what her best friend will tell her. Clearly something was up, and it had something to do with the new kid. She was never fond of Nico, he was too secretive and reclusive. When he wasn't off brooding in odd places, he was stirring up trouble.

Not every teenager in Delphi was an angel, it's virtually impossible not to have some troublemakers. However, Nico was so out of place that prejudice became a huge factor to determine his reputation as _the_ bad boy, the top dog. For example, his most recent escapade was only a couple weeks ago when children were trick-or-treating for Halloween. Sure you're going to get several people who go a little overboard with decorating, it's bound to happen. Nico, though, had dressed in an outfit so disturbing, even grown adults had to look away.

The boy had prowled the streets, scaring children into giving him their candy. Parents had complained to Nico's father, but as far as she knew, he didn't do much to punish his son. He still drove that expensive car around and he still talked back to the teachers. When he spoke it was always something obscene, when he fought with students it was with his fists. To Lou, he was a spoiled brat with money to squabble away on cigarettes and flashy skull jewelry. She had plenty of reasons to be worried for Will.

She arrived at the yogurt shop several minutes late, spotting Will at a window seat immediately. Knowing him, he had been sitting there since a quarter till ten. The light hit his hair in such a way that it looked as though it was spun in strands of gold. She could see why so many girls would fall at his heels constantly, he had the characteristics of a model. With the way he looked out the window in deep thought and his jaw clenched, she could tell whatever he wanted to tell her, it didn't look like good news.

She sat across from him, not sure if she should be the one to break the silence. She eyed the doll that was not so discreetly hidden under the table and on his lap. He noticed her presence quickly and he made an attempt to look more upbeat, but it probably came across as nervousness. He played with the hem of his sleeve, forcing himself to look at his childhood friend. How does one begin this coming out thing? He already knew Lou didn't have any problems with the LGBT+ community, so why was this so hard?

"Thanks for coming." He said, not sure if he should or how he could add anything onto that. She gave him a comforting smile, hoping it would ease him.

"No problem, I was wanting to get out of the house anyway. So how have things been?" She asked, making small talk. There was more to that sentence, _what did you bring me here for?_ was greatly implied.

"I'm okay, I suppose. Just had an epiphany last night, though. So that's something that has been a thing for the past 13 hours." He shrugged, dancing around the subject. Lou nodded absently, not really following along.

"What was your epiphany?" She asked. "If it's one of those what-is-the-meaning-of-life things, we've already talked about that in the ninth grade." Several years back, Cecil, Lou, and Will forwent the school's annual Halloween Bash, finding the decorations and atmosphere to be 'too immature' at the time. They had gone through a sort of hipster phase that they were now too embarrassed to mention. Those were dark times indeed.

"No, I- is it hot in here to you?" He asked, taking a long drink out of a cup he had in front of himself to prevent himself from talking.

"We're in a frozen yogurt shop in November." She deadpanned, watching him suspiciously. "Whatever it is you want to say, I won't hate you." Will sighed, burying his face in his hands before looking up at his friend.

"I think. . . It's just that I may or may not have a thing for guys. Romantically." He tacked on the last word, his heart pounding in anticipation for her reaction. She raised her eyebrows in surprise before she nodded, coming to terms with what he told her.

"So you identify as bisexual now?" She asked.

"I don't know if I really want to put a label on it, but yeah. I guess I have a preference for women, but guys can be appealing too, you know? I just...God help me." He crossed his arms, unable to look at his friend in the eyes.

"It's okay, you don't have to put a label on it if you don't want to. How did you come to this 'epiphany'?" She asked, curious. She couldn't help the feeling of dread that nestled in her stomach. She was an excellent guesser, which was a perk to having an overactive imagination.

"I was just thinking about things." He said, his finger tracing the baroque designs on the table. Coming out was one thing, but admitting he may or may not like Nico di Angelo was a whole other story. Of course he still felt a considerable amount of hostility towards the other, but the amount of time he spent looking at the other was concerning.

"Does this have anything to do with Nico?" She asked, wanting to get a clear answer. Will's eyes snapped to attention at hearing the Italian's name, his finger pausing in its journey to trace the red and blue swirls. His hesitation to her question was as good enough answer as him not saying anything at all.

"Will, I don't care if you like boys or girls, but Nico? Really? You couldn't have at least crushed on someone less of a douche, like Leo?" She asked, her voice dropping to a whisper. It wasn't confirmed, but rumor had it that Valdez swung both ways. Currently the underclassman was dating Calypso, but she was so obviously out of his league that some say he was paying her to date him just so he could get the rumors off his back.

"I wouldn't necessarily call it a crush. It's more like he caught my attention, y'know?" He said, trying to ease his friend.

"Oh God- and not to mention you're partnered with that dick." She said, distressed.

"About that," Will said, smiling sheepishly, "I kind of made a deal with him."

"Kind of? One does not just simply _kind of_ make a deal with the devil. What did you do?" She asked, arms crossed over her chest. And so he told her all, and by all he meant everything from their partnership to the deal to the mandatory kisses. She sighed, glaring at Will like a naughty child.

"There's just one thing I don't understand," she said, shaking her head. Will hummed in response for her to continue. "Why would he propose that in the first place?" She asked. Her question was definitely something worth mulling over. Most people would've just asked for money or a cheat sheet to a test.

"Probably because he wants to make me as uncomfortable as possible." He grumbled, shrugging. Lou didn't say anything, instead nodded to herself in thought. Things became much more complicated now that Will has come out to liking boys, more specifically grew an indescribable attraction to the last boy she wanted to think about.

"You couldn't have possibly liked anyone worse," she reprimanded, looking her friend straight in the eyes.

"Trust me, I dread this as much as you do. He's odd, I've never seen him in church, he's disrespectful, and he gets into too many physical fights. I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be his partner and I certainly didn't ask to have some sort of twisted attraction for him. Most of the time I want to punch his face in!" He balled his fist and waved it slightly to add emphasis to his point. His angry expression softened and soured. "Am I a masochist? Or is it some sort of subconscious desire to punish myself?"

"You can't help who you feel an attraction for- it's just a thing that happens, ya know? Love is weird like that. I just hope your attraction for him passes quickly, the last thing we need is for you to get too involved with him." She took a strand of her hair and twirled it between her fingers. She couldn't find it within herself to be angry with him. "He's a dangerous person, promise me you won't do something stupid."

"I promise I won't do something stupid," he said, rolling his eyes and smiling dryly. "And you have to promise not to tell anyone about this."

"What about Cecil, aren't you going to let him know?" She asked, tugging at her strand of hair slightly harder. Cecil was part of their close knit friend group since the third grade, it would be unfair to tell Lou and keep him in the dark.

"I was going to tell him eventually." Will said, drawing his arms close to himself.

"When is the next time you're meeting up with Nico?" Lou asked. When the blond asked her why she cared to know, she grinned. "Because I have an idea."

Cecil O'Neill could have spent his Saturday night marathoning whatever was playing on the AMC channel or playing his collection of vintage Nintendo games, but clearly that wasn't going to happen. Apparently something was going down at the theater tonight and his two closest friends were going to be secretive pricks about it until he showed up. All he knew for certain was that it involved him posing as Lou's date. He loved her in a familial sense so the thought was a bit awkward to dwell on.

He wasn't sure how dressed up one must be when going on a date to the movies. He was certain he'd get whacked upside the head from Lou if he showed up in his cheeto stained t-shirt and khaki shorts, but if he overdressed, he'd be attracting too much attention. He decided to go with the safe bet on casual jeans and a sweater. The weather was getting a little chilly anyway, he might as well bust out the homemade sweaters his grandmother gave him last Christmas, made with love and itchy fibers.

He changed into the clothes he had set out for himself a quarter hour before meeting up with his friends at the ticket booth. The theater was a five minute bike ride away from his house, so he didn't feel as though he had to rush anything. He checked his image in the bathroom mirror, checking for food between his teeth and to style his hair to look as though he hadn't slept through most the day. After making sure he looked presentable enough by Lou's standards, he sauntered into the living room to grab a light snack.

He had to pass his two younger brothers, Pollux and Castor on the way to the kitchen. The twins were fighting again, over what, Cecil didn't care to know. He tried to tune them out as he poured himself a glass of apple juice, the best fruit to ever be juiced, and grabbed a granola bar. The last time he got involved with their nonsensical squabbles, he had earned a bruised side and a sore jaw. He did catch phrases such as "it's my turn..." and "...you have to be so boring..." and "...don't hog the remote".

Normally their mother would intervene by this point, but she was probably nursing a flask of whiskey while locking herself in her room. He had to hand it to her, the woman could hold down her alcohol. She served the Irish stereotype well, what with her incessant habit of drinking. His father traveled a lot, constantly going to work all around the world. His mother was often suspicious of his loyalty, anticipating her husband to commit infidelity around the globe. _At least he still comes home_ , Cecil thought bitterly, thinking of Will.

There was never such a thing as an average family. Even though everything may look fine from someone else's point of view, they could never truly understand until they crawled into your skin and experienced the things you have. Life is pain, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling you something. Cecil and Will had bonded over the common factor that they each had an absent parent when they were younger. However, Cecil's father, Hermes, was making an effort to visit now more than ever. Will's mother was dead for all he knew.

Once he finished his snack, he grabbed his wallet from the counter and stuffed it in his back pocket. He left a note on the fridge for his mother entailing his whereabouts for the next couple of hours. She would probably panic if he were to leave without an explanation. He hopped on his bike and rode to the theater, making sure to arrive a couple minutes early. When he arrived, there was a small accumulating group of people waiting outside the ticket booth. Among those people was a familiar boy clad in black, leaning against the wall with a cigarette snug between his lips.

Cecil tried not to make eye contact with the other, tying his bike to a pole. There weren't any bike racks to park it so the pole was the next best thing. He lingered around the area, waiting for his friends to show up after buying his ticket. He wasn't comfortable being left alone for long periods of time, so he brought out his phone to quickly shoot Lou a quick text. Before he could hit send, someone was lacing their arm through his. Startled, he turned to jerk away before realizing it was just the very girl he was trying to get in contact with.

She was dressed in lavender and white, colors that she claimed to best compliment her dark complexion. Behind her was Will, wearing a yellow knitted vest over a white dress shirt. In his arms he was toting a doll, which wasn't too surprising. His and Lou's dolls were with their partners for the night. He smiled when seeing them, tucking his phone away with the arm that wasn't in Lou's grip.

"So what did you need to tell me?" He asked, looking from one person to the other. He suspected he had to be Lou's date for the night in order to make one of her latest crushes jealous and Will to tag along for moral support. Usually it was the other way around, where Will would be the faux boyfriend and Cecil would tag along like a third wheel.

"Will, sweet Will, has something to say." She said, giving the blond a pointed look. The boy of the subject looked down at his shoes, scuffing the soles against the cement lightly.

"I may or may not have to pretend-date Nico because of a deal and Lou wants you here for moral support or whatever." He mumbled just loud enough for him to hear and no one around them to eavesdrop. The redhead furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Okay, that definitely wasn't something I was anticipating. What deal?" He asked, prodding the other to elaborate.

"Long story short, he'll help me watch over Bianca if we pretend-date for two weeks. You and Lou are here to make it look less suspicious." He said, the tip of his shoe digging into the side of his other foot now. Cecil wasn't sure who Bianca was, but he could take a wild guess.

"And." Lou said, prompting the other to continue encouragingly. The blond looked up sheepishly, finally looking the other boy in the eyes.

"Plus I kind of swing both ways romantically. I just kinda coincidentally figured it out the day I was assigned to be Nico's partner. Coincidentally." The boy had put emphasis on coincidentally, face becoming flushed.

"Well that explains why you wanted me here." Cecil said, feeling slightly let down. He was kind of hoping that he would be the object of someone's jealousy tonight. "I don't care whose ass you're after, but… how will you explain it to your dad?" The blond grimaced.

"I really don't want to think about that right now." He admitted, biting his lip anxiously. Before anyone could say anything else, Cecil felt a creeping sensation behind him,a shadow looming over him. Lou's grip on him tightened only slightly when Nico stepped around Cecil and facing the group of three as though he belonged there, tension thickening. Will was the courageous soul to first speak.

"Nico, these are my friends, Lou and Cecil." He introduced them, gesturing to each of them courteously. Cecil gave the boy a once over, and it seemed as though Nico was doing the same to him. He briefly noted the other was wearing a black button down shirt, but the aviator jacket was still there and slung over his shoulder. The Italian tilted his head slightly, looking at the two carefully, trying to remember where he had seen them before.

"Yeah, I have class with you both in computer science." He said, finally recognizing them.

"Right, you're the one who planted the dick pics on Leo's computer." Cecil said, recalling the incident. Nico was never caught but the whole school had a hunch that it wasn't Leo's fault. That didn't stop the barrage of teasing the Hispanic had to endure from the school pricks. The raven haired boy fought off a smirk.

"Admit it, seeing him flustered like that was hilarious." The Italian reminisced. It took Cecil half a second to decide that holding his tongue was next to impossible.

"Yes, because I always get a sadistic pleasure watching other people get socked in the face for being gay. Top notch comedy." He jeered passive aggressively. He worried briefly if he had said something that would warrant a fist to the gut. Instead, Nico had a peculiar look on his face, as though he were confused. Did he really not know?

"Now wait just a moment-" Nico began, thick eyebrows furrowing, but he couldn't finish whatever thought he had. Lou and Will hadn't bought their tickets yet and the theater was already opening their doors to allow people inside.

Will was nervous about the whole double date thing that Lou suggested. He wasn't sure how well his friends would get along with his partner, but he did appreciate their support. It was something a lot like having a security blanket of some sort. It was comforting and it also reassured himself that if Nico were to pull anything, there would be witnesses. Word has it that Nico also trafficked drugs and people, not that Will believed it or anything, but one could never be too sure.

Before arriving to the theater, he had texted Nico to show up on his own so that it wouldn't look odd that they come together. He also told him that he had already talked to Lou about the deal and would tell Cecil soon, so there would be plus two to their date. Date. That word still sent weird feelings to his stomach.

The first few minutes of Nico's presence was hard to endure, but thankfully when one goes to the movies, you don't speak. The raven haired boy sat to his left and Lou on his right. When Cecil had brought up Leo, Will was set in further uneasiness. Sure, the Italian could be violent, brass, distant, and suspicious looking, but would he really relish in someone else's misery? He didn't know the other well enough to have any straight answer.

Meanwhile, the Italian in question took a moment to reflect on what Cecil had said. Was the sophomore kid really getting beaten for something as small as that? He really screwed up this guy's life and felt anger bubble in his veins and to his fists. Normally he wouldn't give two shits about the effects of whatever prank he pulled, but if it were over something as quizzical as sexuality, he began to feel a sudden urge to care. The guy probably wasn't even gay, but that was besides the point.

Even though Nico didn't seem like it, he had his own set of morals. He wasn't necessarily religious, but you don't have to be to have your own person set of rules to live by. Yes, he realized he could be a massive dick, but that was more of a personal problem than anything else. He was his own vigilante, his own savior. If he saw a problem, he fixed it the only way he knew how, and that was through fists. If anyone was going to be socking people in the face, it would be him.

His other issue lied two and three seats down from himself. Yes, it was a good idea to have other people around to make them look less suspicious, but that didn't mean he had to be happy with the arrangement. He nibbled on his licorice, watching the previews with peaked interest. His sister would tease how he invested his time with all genres of movies and he should get a job as a movie critic. While that sounded like fun, he was fairly certain there were thousands of other people lining up for the same thing. Then again, he could just buy his way to the front of said proverbial line.

Will glanced at Nico every so often, his olive skin lit by the screen. He went from tense to relaxed, long gangly legs propped up on the rail that lined the row. He smiled genuinely whenever something funny was said, it wasn't one of his famous condescending smirks and whoa were those dimples? The Italian didn't seem to notice being watched- well, the blond had thought so before dark eyes shot to meet his. No doubt Will looked like a deer caught in a car's headlights. How was he going to explain this?

"If you wanted some you should have just asked," Nico said, offering his bag of stringy red candy. Will was confused briefly before realizing the other had thought he was staring at him for his food. Embarrassment flooded his cheeks as well as relief.

"Oh, um thanks." Will said, gingerly taking the candy anyway. Extracting licorice from its wrapping suddenly become much louder than Will had remembered, causing him to cringe. He didn't want to attract attention from anyone, especially when he was in a place so audibly sensitive. He didn't get his wish to fly under the radar. Sometime near the ending of the movie, Bianca began crying, causing the person behind him to kick the back of his seat in irritation. Will took that as a sign to vacate the area.

He wasn't aware Nico was following him until he was in the lobby, lightly bouncing the doll on his hip. The lobby was quiet and small, no one else to be seen other than the concession stand worker who had their face in a home renovation magazine. Will couldn't remember her name, but it started with an A. Annabell? Anne?

"You didn't have to follow me, I can handle it." Will told the other. Nico had his hands shoved in his pockets, causing his shoulders to haunch slightly. With there being a total of one potential witness, Will was slightly nervous with being left alone with Nico. This is the part where the Italian whips out a gun and threatens to shoot him if he doesn't come with him to a shady alleyway where he gets bagged and blindfolded. Will inwardly groaned, his imagination was getting ahead of him.

"I know, but I wanted to. I guess I felt a little obligated to help?" He brought a hand up to the back of his neck, watching Will with dark eyes that was softer than Will saw at school. The blond blamed the change in expression due to the immediate change in lighting.

"If you want to catch the ending I won't stop you. I think I'm just going to wait the rest of the movie out here, it should almost be over by now anyway." Will excused, Bianca finally quieting. Will wasn't too invested in the movie and he didn't see a point in going back in if he was going to get up 2 minutes later.

"I've actually seen it before." Nico said, almost hesitant to admit it. The blond reacted exactly how Nico thought he would.

"Then why did you suggest we see it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I liked it and thought seeing it again wouldn't be too bad. Need any other reason?" Nico defended himself. "I'd rather stay out here and spend a few moments of just you and me anyway." He gave the blond a suggestive grin, causing Will to look away. He tried not to give Nico the satisfaction of seeing him flustered, so he tried to hide it with a scowl.

"Because my personality is like a tall glass of water." Will said sarcastically, Nico frowned at his expression.

"Mind if we take a step outside?" The raven haired boy asked, glancing at the employee behind the counter. "I need to take a smoke."

"I don't mind." Will responded, following the taller boy out of the building. They stood near the entrance, Nico making himself comfortable leaning against the brick wall. Wordlessly, they watched the sky, Nico exhaling smoke every now and then. They listened to the cicadas and frogs as stars began unveiling themselves. Eventually, the quiet between them was broken.

"You look much better smiling." The Italian said, noticing the way Will's breath would get stuck in his throat.

"Why did you want to do… this?" Will asked, not really knowing what what 'this' was. It wasn't as simple as hanging out and it wasn't an actual date. Will wasn't sure if he could take it if he started to fall for Nico. It was stupid, it really was. He hated Nico's guts, he wanted the other to move back to the other side of the world. So why does his eyes linger on the others lips, his eyes, his hands- well, pretty much everything? It scared him and it fed a fire within him he didn't know he had.

"Isn't it obvious?" Nico asked as though the answer was plain to see. "I'm infatuated with you, Solace. Plus, I like a challenge." The blond chose to ignore the first part and zeroed in on the last sentence.

"A challenge? What is that supposed to mean?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm determined to woo you by the end of the end of the two weeks." He said casually, almost like he was talking about the weather. Will's jaw unhinged and he had to remind himself to snap it shut.

"I'm not even a homosexual, so I'd like to see you try." He rolled his eyes, making sure they never came in contact with the others gaze.

"After that kiss yesterday? I'm sure you have _something_ for me." The Italian pressed, grinning wickedly.

"You wish." Will said, cursing himself inwardly for the childish retort. How old was he, 12?

"Like I said, you're a challenge." Nico said, grinning to himself.

"Well, good luck with that." Will was beginning to want a topic change and quick. "I was wondering if you would like to go to church tomorrow."

"Is this your twisted way of telling me I need Jesus in my life?" Nico teased, tossing the butt of his cigarette on the ground and stepping on it.

"I guess I am. It was just a thing my dad had suggested the other night, really." He said, finding it awkward to ask the other to church. You know what? Scratch that. Every time Will was around the other it was awkward.

"I'll pass. I have better things to do other than listening to your Dad lecture me on all my sins and how I'm condemned to Hell for two hours." Nico said, closing his eyes as the breeze picked up and shuffled through his hair.

"I won't force you to come." Will assured. He was afraid Nico would accuse him of 'forcing his religion down his throat'.

"However, I would go if you promised to come with me wherever and whenever I say so, no questions asked." He offered, cracking his eyes slightly to look down at the other.

"As tempting as that sounds, I'm also not an idiot. How do I know you won't lead me to some sort of dangerous cave and sell me to some human trafficker? No thanks." Will said, half joking. The other feigned hurt.

"You honestly think I would endanger you?" He asked, widening his eyes to look the other straight on.

"I hardly know you." The blond pointed out.

"True, but we have a full two weeks of getting to know each other. And you'll find that I'm the least lame person in this town, trust me."

"Conceited much?" Will snarked.

"Very." The Italian said in all seriousness. Will had to force away a smile and failed, and he began to laugh. His laughing sparked Nico to smile genuinely, nothing malicious or intimidating could be traced. Will couldn't help but think he looked really nice like that, and felt his walls begin to crumble ever so slightly.

"If you go to church, I'll go with you wherever and whenever so long as it doesn't get us in trouble. Deal?" He offered when his laughing died down.

"Deal." The other said. It wasn't too long until people began to leak out of the theater doors, a sign that the movie ended. "See you tomorrow, Solace." Nico said before taking Bianca and her bottle. Will watched the raven haired boy walk down the sidewalk, cradling the doll clad in pink.

"What happened? You both didn't come back to see the ending." Lou said once she and Cecil had reunited with the blond.

"We just talked. Good news is I convinced him to go to church tomorrow." He said. Lou's jaw unhinged and Cecil's eyebrows shot upwards.

"I will honestly be surprised if he doesn't combust once he walks through the doors." The redhead said wryly, causing Lou to laugh at his dry humor.

"Yeah." Will said absentmindedly, glancing over his shoulder to see if he could still see Nico's retreating form; he couldn't.

Nico walked into his house to see his sister sprawled on the couch asleep with the television still playing. He set the doll aside so he could pick up the girl, only a sophomore, and carry her up to her room. He made sure to step carefully, not wanting to break whatever she often had strewn about her bedroom floor. Even though the room was dark, he knew by heart that she had a horse calendar on the door and a sketch of him hung on the wall above her desk.

He pulled the covers up to her shoulders, checking to make sure she was comfortable before turning to leave as quietly as possible. He was stopped by a small voice calling his name. He came back to her bedside, sitting on the edge. "You should go back to sleep." He spoke softly to her. She shook her head, rubbing the palm of her hands in her eyes to clear away the sleep.

"No, I was waiting for you so I could tell you something." She said, pushing herself up so that she was in a sitting position.

"Can't it wait for morning?" Nico asked.

"Nico it's only like eleven at night and I'm 15, I can handle staying up for like another few minutes." She chided. A fun fact about Hazel is that she says 'like' often when tired.

"Alright, what is it you want to tell me?" He asked.

"Dad told me he was thinking about, like, asking Persephone to marry him." She said, watching Nico carefully to gauge his reaction. Like she expected, he became rigid. Their father, Hades, had been dating Persephone for only two months out of the four months of staying at Delphi. Hades had been saying how wrong it was for the two of them to not have a complete family, and it looked as though he was rushing things by this point.

After Marie's death, Nico wasn't sure he wanted another addition to the family. He saw the way Persephone looked at him. Hades had met Persephone when he went to her flower shop in the next town over so that he could buy roses in memory of Nico's biological mother's death. Hades was a wealthy man and Nico was certain that was the only reason why someone so much younger than him was even interested in having a relationship with him. After the first month of their dating, she had made herself comfortable in their home.

"That's… soon." He said, trying to find some way to respond. By the look on Hazel's face, it was safe to say she agreed. He could tell she was scared by the way she played with the hem of her shirt sleeve.

"Yeah, but he was going to talk to you about it tomorrow before he asks her. He even showed me the ring he'll give her." She said. Nico gave her a forced comforting smile.

"I guess we'll just have to pray for things to be alright." He said.

"I thought you said praying didn't work." She said, looking at her brother curiously.

"It doesn't. I was just alluding that I'll be going to church tomorrow and you're _definitely_ going with to tell me what to do so I won't look like a dumbass." He said.

"Okay who are you and what have you done with my brother?" Hazel asked, grabbing the nearest thing, a stuffed animal, as a weapon. Nico grinned at her antics.

"Your brother is mine now. He's gone and you're never getting him back." He played along, talking in a choppy manner that was the equivalent of a robot impersonation.

"Give me my brother back, jerk." She said, popping him on the head lightly.

"No but seriously, get up early to take me to church." He said, getting up to leave. Before he shut the door behind himself, he tacked on, "And no reading under the covers, go to sleep." Her hand retracted from her bedside table where her flashlight rested.

"Yes sir."

 **(Author's Note: Ha ha whoops, I forgot to leave an author's note in my haste to post the second chapter. I was touched by the reviews on the first chapter and thought 'meh, why not continue?'. So now this is a thing, I suppose. I have a pretty good outline on how I'm going to continue with this, hopefully I won't be too predictable *cue omnipotent wink* and no, it won't be the bat shit crazy type of unpredictable. The only thing stopping me now is: how does one edit a chapter? You'll know that I have it down if you see this.)**


	3. Chapter 3

**(Author's Note: I dislike putting warnings in the beginning because I feel as though it makes the story less surprising, but I do realize there are people who need it. Warning- This chapter contains homophobic slurs and a rape attempt.)**

Nico scrutinized his reflection as he stood in front of the bathroom mirror. He knew he had to dress more presentable than usual, he wasn't terribly clueless. Still, he was adamant enough to keep the skull ring and keep his hair typically messy. It would be demeaning if he had to look like he, God forbid, respected any sort of authority, even of the holy kind. The whole town was going to be there and he didn't want to give anyone the impression that he was less of an asshole just because he bothered to show up.

Hazel was excited to have someone to go with. Hades would never attend church with her because he would complain it was too early in the morning for him. He hardly ever left his home, either staying in his study or bedroom. Hazel wasn't close enough with Persephone to even ask. And besides, Persephone wasn't much of a religious person anyway and would rather tend to the flower garden she created on the front lawn. She claimed that _'the vibrant colors would brighten the house'_ , but the Di Angelo family knew it was mostly a tactic to make them look friendlier, more approachable. With winter around the corner, the flowers were going to die anyway. The only reason they survived for so long was because Delphi was thankfully in a more warmer climate.

Nico stepped out of the bathroom once he deemed himself presentable, by his standards at least. Hazel was waiting for him downstairs, having already eaten breakfast and ready to hop in the car. Her mane of hair was kept back with a bright ribbon, tied in a delicate bow. She wasn't your standard girly girl, but she did have a tendency to wear gemstones and lace whenever she was in the mood for it. She wore a pair of citrine earrings, the gemstone of the current month. The jewelry was a gift from Hades for her previous birthday. _'For good fortune'_ he had said as she held the jewelry box gingerly. Despite their wealth, she knew fortune was not in her family's favor.

"I was about to come up and get you." She had said as she grabbed her handbag from the coffee table. "I'd hate to show up late." Before she could usher him out the door, Nico snatched an apple from the bowl of fruit adorning the kitchen counter and grabbed Bianca from the couch.

Nico steered the car with one hand and ate the fruit with the other. The church was only a quarter hour drive away, nestled atop a hill overlooking the town below it. He already knew where it was because on the few occasions Hazel wanted to attend, he would be the one to drop her off and pick her up. Whenever she rode with him, he was more lenient to listen to whatever radio station she would pick than if it were someone else.

He tossed the apple core out the window before he reached the parking lot, it was already full of cars and void of people. The Italian didn't have much patience for finding a free space and decided to take one of the handicapped spots near the front. Hazel reprimanded that he would get a fine for it, but he waved away her mild scolding nonchalantly. It was nothing he couldn't pay for.

Hazel took the lead as they strode up the steps. Nico trudged behind, one hand jammed in his pocket and the other holding Bianca. Yes, he was the one who agreed to showing up, but he couldn't help but second guess himself, that this was a bad idea. It was beginning to feel like a perfect waste of his time that could be used sleeping in instead. Hazel opened the double doors slowly, hoping to not draw attention to herself. The doors were placed behind everyone sitting in the pews.

Only a handful of people bothered to turn their heads to see who was coming through the door, and those who did gawked silently. Soon enough the people around them grew curious of who had captivated their attention and turned as well. Hazel hastily took a bulletin and found a seat in the back. Nico followed her, fists clenching. He wasn't comfortable with all the attention and shot a few onlookers a glare threatening enough to petrify. Timidly, they would turn right back around to face the front.

There was a middle aged man in robes on the pulpit who was looking at boy was too far back to clearly read what expression he had, but he knew the blond man was looking at him. Like with everyone else, Nico glared back. Unperturbed, the older began continuing with whatever he had been announcing before.

"Ah, where was I?" He mumbled, glancing down at his paper. "Oh yes, the Pine Tree Fire Department will be hosting a bake sale next Sunday to raise funding money for the public library. Anyone who wants to volunteer and help pitch in will be greatly appreciated. The Underwood family will be here all day Saturday in the church's kitchen, so you can lend a helping hand and bake with them or drop off any treats you made at home." He said, gesturing to the Underwood family. Nico recognized Grover, the senior with the crutches. Despite being older, Grover tended to hang out with the sophomores.

"Are there any other announcements?" The pastor asked, eyes skimming over the crowd for raised hands. Finding none, he continued to ask if there were any birthdays or anniversaries. There was an old frail couple who stood up together, stating their anniversary of 43 years was yesterday, and the congregation clapped.

He straightened up begrudgingly, arms crossed in irritation. Then, the pastor directed everyone to bow their heads in prayer, in remembrance of those they lost. The Italian watched as everyone did just that. A few children here and there squirmed in their seats, the mothers bending down to shush them. The raven haired boy took the moment to look around the building, eyeing the stain glass windows. The morning sun streamed through, causing a rainbow of color to fall upon a good portion of the church. A giant crucifix was hung on the wall behind the choir, and nailed to it was a wooden man wearing a thorn crown.

Before Nico's mother Maria died, she would take Nico to church. She was a woman of faith and believed that even if there was no God, the morals that were taught in the New Testament would instill a moral compass in Nico, a seed that would grow into something kind and thoughtful. When she and Bianca died, Hades grew bitter and took him to the church less and less. Nico hated how everyone looked at him after the incident, hated how the pastor would have the audacity to look a child in the face and tell him that it was God's will that they died.

After a long moment, the pastor began talking, although no one lifted their head. He spoke of heaven and peace, and Nico could feel irritation stir within him. For all he knew, everyone gathered once a week to bend over for someone who wasn't even there. Eventually, the pastor instructed that everyone stand and open their Hymnals to a certain page.

As they were told, the congregation stood, turning to the page that the pastor directed them to. Nico followed along, the nostalgic feeling of doing the same when he was younger. Except then, he had his mother holding his hand. He quirked an eyebrow at the page, the musical notes going up and down wildly. He was unsure if he should even attempt to sing along, certain that he would sing off key throughout the whole song. Besides, after reading along, he found the lyrics to be quite suggestive. Phrases such as "touch me" and "fill me" were coming off of everyone's lips and the Italian began snickering. Hazel caught this and rolled her eyes at his immaturity.

When the song ended, they sat back down and were directed to their bulletins, where they had to read something aloud for some reason or another. 'A Call To Worship' was what the pastor called it.

It wasn't long until the children of the church had to gather in the front for Children's Worship, where the pastor sat on the steps so he wouldn't tower over them. He talked to them about temptation and how God would see every sin they would commit, even if no one else did. Then, they bowed their head in prayer, asking the Lord to keep them on the right path and not to be lead astray, comparing themselves to sheep and their God to a shepherd. After that, they were lead to the back of the church.

It was then that the choir stood, boys in the back and girls in the front. Despite being seated in the back, Nico recognized a few people, having seen them around the school corridors. He mainly noticed the boy with golden hair standing near the far right, next to the pianist. He recognized him to be the sole reason for arriving in the first place. Will Solace gave him a small wave, gracing a smile. Nico wasn't aware he was slouching until that moment, suddenly becoming self conscious of his posture and straightened out his back. He offered a halfhearted wave back.

The choir wasn't terrible, far from it, actually. Their voices would best be described as passionate and strong, hitting the notes perfectly. Just because they sung well, that didn't mean the lyrics were any better. Again, phrases that could easily be taken the wrong way were sung with such gusto, Nico made a mental note to tease Will about it later. The choir was dismissed and filed row after row to find seats with the rest of the church. Will glanced over at Nico a final time before sitting somewhere in the front.

By this point, the pastor was ready to begin his sermon. He stood on the pulpit, watching the last child pass through the doors. There was a moment of silence where half the town held their gaze on one man. The other half of town either went to church the next town over or went to the Wednesday service. Then, the pastor clasped his hands together in front of himself, eyes looking at his feet humbly before looking up.

"Temptation is a slippery slope." He began, looking over the congregation thoughtfully. "We all make mistakes, we all give in to temptation at some point or another. And that's okay, because God forgives. But we shouldn't make it a habit to sin consecutively, because that's when the Devil's influence gets stronger and the further away you get from God." Nico began tuning the pastor out, eyes glazing over. His mind began to meander, drifting away and thinking about what he could do once church ends, what he should have for lunch.

His eyes landed on the pencils that were kept in the pews and took one, playing with it and wishing he had something to doodle on. He realized he did and pulled out the nearest Hymnal to use, ignoring Hazel's poisonous glare. He was too engrossed in drawing a shitty comic next to Amazing Grace.

". . . the same can go for homosexuals." Well that certainly caught Nico's attention. "The Devil encourages people to sin by whispering in their ear to bed with a person of the same sex. It's a trap to lure you to Hell, and must be resisted. Do not give in to this temptation." The Italian rolled his eyes and proceeded to block out whatever hokum the man was preaching. Hazel found Nico's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, letting him know that she loved him no matter what.

The rest of church passed with another long ass prayer, heads bowed for so long that he wondered if everyone was going to get a crick in their neck. Another song was sung and church was dismissed, much to Nico's relief. He felt like he had won something, and realized he did. Will owed him now, and that made the Italian feel smug.

He stayed near the back, waiting for the familiar golden hair and sapphire eyes. Hazel stood nearby, already being pulled into conversation with school friends. Everyone began meandering their way out of the building, a handful of people casting wary smiles his direction. They were glad to see him in church, that much was apparent. It wasn't long before the man who has been preaching for the past hour found Nico.

"Forgive me, but I don't believe we've ever met." The pastor said, eye to eye with the 18 year old. He had his hand out for the younger to shake.

"Nico Di Angelo." The Italian introduced himself, eyeing the other man's outstretched hand with a discontented look. Seeing that Nico had no intentions of shaking his hand, Apollo dropped his hand to his side awkwardly.

"I'm not sure if you know this, but I'm Will's father. From what I hear you two are friends, yeah?" He said, hoping to break the ice. Apollo only heard rumors of the boy, none too kind. He was determined to make a difference in the boy's life.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Nico had no interest in talking to Apollo, he just wanted to see and tease Will about being in his debt.

"The church is having a potluck Wednesday after service, I would love to see you there." The man said, hoping to sway the other into getting more involved with the church. Before Nico could say that he would rather hang himself, Will was already on the scene.

"Nico, I'm so glad you came." Will smiled at the raven haired boy warmly, for some reason it relaxed him.

"Of course I did." He replied shortly, not wanting to say too much in front of Apollo.

"I'll leave you boys to yourselves, I have to catch up with Mrs. Underwood before she leaves. I'll see you Wednesday, Nico." The man had said, leaving before Nico could argue.

"Maybe." He called at the man's retreating back, not wanting to be forced into any position he hadn't agreed to. Will cast the other a curious look.

"What about Wednesday?" He asked, tilting his head slightly in question.

"Your Dad thinks I'm coming to the service." He replied nonchalantly. "Anyway, I just wanted to remind you that you now owe me." He grinned, and there was a flicker of some unreadable emotion in Will's eyes. He looked almost hesitant, or afraid. Nico wasn't sure if he should be proud or ashamed to elicit that from the other.

"Nothing that will get us in trouble." Will reminded, his volume lowering some.

"Of course. That would only complicate things, wouldn't it?" He thought aloud. "So, you're a choir boy?" He changed the topic.

"Yeah, well, about that," Will said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away awkwardly, "I can't sing." He admitted.

"Then why are you…?" Nico raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.

"Because Dad insisted I do more with the church, something like that." He shrugged. "I just lip sing up there, I've been told I'm too flat and can't hold a note." The blond glanced at the taller boy, unsure of his reaction.

"I bet I could make you sing beautifully in bed." Nico gave the other a lecherous grin, causing Will to blush at the implication. He hardened his expression, determined to not let Nico get to him.

"That was highly inappropriate, Di Angelo." He couldn't look the other straight in the eyes, instead he opted to look at the Italian's forehead. Nico just laughed, enjoying the expressions he could get out of the blond.

"Are we going to start calling each other by our surnames now, Solace? That hardly seems intimate at all." Nico teased.

"First off, you've been addressing me by my last name since the beginning of the school year. Secondly, I don't want any sort of intimacy between us." He crossed his arms in defense, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one could hear.

"As your husband, I take offense to that." He feigned hurt, his hand splayed across his chest as though it were in pain.

"Don't forget that I've only agreed to this whole ordeal because I wanted you to pull your own weight, don't think for a second I have any sort of romantic feelings for you." Will figured if he continued to deny any feelings for the Italian, he would no longer have sinful thoughts or desires. Just because he had an attraction for him, that didn't mean he was happy about it.

Nico's playful demeanor wavered briefly. Of course Will would react this way. He wasn't sure why he had fabricated some deal that would make Will his temporary date for two weeks. He told himself it was because he wanted a challenge, but he knew that wasn't entirely the case. He was determined to not be phased by Will's clear denial. " _Right_ ," he drew out the word with a disbelieving smirk, "well, here's the kid." He practically shoved the doll into the others chest. "I'll see you tomorrow." He dismissed himself, Will watching him go silently.

Hazel noticed Nico's shift in demeanor as they rode back home. His usual bored expression was filled with something more profound, as though he was in deep thought. She began to wonder if it were the sermon that Apollo gave today.

"You never told me why you wanted to go to church." She broke the silence, her words hung heavy in the air. Nico was known to be spontaneous, but even this was remarkable enough to question.

"I made a deal with someone, that's all." He replied, not really caring if she knew about his situation or not. It wasn't that he was trying to keep secrets, he just wasn't in the mood to talk. Hazel clearly held no regard for his desire to let the subject drop.

"And?" She prodded, wanting him to continue. He was planning on telling her sooner or later anyway, might as well get it over with now.

"You know the PK, Will Solace?" He said, the car's speed declining by a notch.

"He was the one you were talking to before we left the building." She recalled.

"Yeah, well he's my Health class partner, the one who helps watch over that doll I brought to church. I made a deal with him." He clarified. And he explained everything to her, even the bet.

"Nico, when I told you to make friends, this isn't what I meant." She teased halfheartedly.

"I have friends." He defended. Hazel shook her head.

"Those aren't good friends." She rebutted under her breath. Nico chose not to say anything after that. She was right, the group of kids he hung out with weren't ideal, but they could be worse.

Octavian was a teacher's pet during school hours but was the poster child of all things douchebag when he had the urge. He had a sick tendency to trap small animals and dissect them in his room, but only a few people knew about it. Everyone knew he was a sociopath and kept their distance from him, he was too controlling and could easily be thrown in a fit of rage at the flip of a dime. The adults either didn't know or didn't care that he needed help. Nico had once told Octavian he needed to see a therapist, but the boy had snapped that "I don't need a goddamn shrink, mind your own business."

Ethan Nakamura was a foster kid, which wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for his hostile personality. He was an outcast, always shutting people out. Eventually people stopped trying to befriend him altogether. Some brave souls (or rather stupid) would ask about his eye-patch. His typical response was to glare until they walked away. Even though he and Nico hung out, not even the Italian knew the story behind the eye-patch. Some people say his biological mother was a total nutcase and attacked him, the reason why he had only one functioning eye.

It wasn't long until they pulled into their driveway. With the season shifting into colder weather, Persephone had decided to plant things that could tolerate the November chill. Pumpkins from October were still thriving in their patches, the orange fruits blending in with the surrounding leaves.

Nico was ready to crash on the couch with a bag of chips and a soda, but Hazel insisted they eat something involving less salt and sugar. They rummaged throughout the kitchen, vetoing frozen pizza in favor of leftover lasagna. Nico leaned against the marble counter as he listened to the microwave hum. Hazel was pouring sweetened tea into their glasses. When they moved to the southern United States, they tried iced tea for the first time and Hazel fell in love with it. Nico wasn't a huge fan, but he could admit it was refreshing.

They were sitting in the living room with their plates full when Hades strode into the room wearing clothes more formal than usual. Because the man hardly ever stepped out of his house, he would typically wear a robe over a t-shirt and boxers. The only time he bothered dressing sharply was when he was going out. It didn't matter if it was just to buy flowers or pick up dry cleaning, he would always pull out one of the many suits he had in his closet. Every action he made outside his home was an occasion.

"Where are you going dressed like that?" Nico asked, raising an eyebrow at his father. The man looked down at his son briefly, then again to make sure he saw correctly.

"I could ask the same." He countered, eyeing his son's attire.

"Church. You?" He said, trying to get the topic off of himself. Hades sat himself on a recliner so he could become more level with his son.

"You and church? How much were you paid to do that?" He teased. Nico refrained from rolling his eyes.

"Dad," he stared his father in the eyes, "seriously, what's up?" But he already knew what was up, Hazel had told him last night. He just wanted to hear it from Hades himself.

"Nico, you know I love you and your sister, and I sincerely believe this family needs to be complete." He began, searching Nico's eyes to gouge any reactions. "I know Persephone hasn't been with us for very long, but there is just something about her that I really think would be good for this family. I'm going to propose to her tonight, but I wanted you and Hazel to be the first to know."

Nico set his plate on the coffee table, his appetite waning. "Don't do it." His voice was unnervingly calm, glaring at the plate because he was too furious to look at his father.

"Nico- " Hades tried to reason with his son but was interrupted before much could pass his lips.

"No, you can't get remarried just like that. You've only known her for barely four months, how can you actually think this is a good idea?" He had to force himself to control his volume, knowing that yelling would only resolute with more yelling.

"I'm doing this for you and Hazel." Hades defended himself, leaning forward so his son could see his sincerity. Hazel watched with widening eyes, anticipating the worse to happen. She kept her mouth shut, not wanting to get in the middle of the rising tension.

"How would this be helping us? We're fine the way we are. Persephone only wants you for your money and you know it." He accused, his fists trembling. He bounced his knee, fidgeting because he didn't know how else to contain the accumulating energy buzzing in his veins.

"You need a mother figure in your life, you need a wholesome family. She can give you that." Hades insisted. "Besides, ever since Maria and Bianca's death you have been acting up. This isn't like you, Nico. The only reason the school hasn't expelled you yet is because of my money." His voice was edging with warning.

"You can't remarry as though Maria and Marie never existed. You don't care about them, you never have!" Nico turned to his father, his voice rising with anguish. The boy hadn't seen it coming and neither had Hazel. But it was plain as day, Hades had slapped Nico across the face. The sound of skin against skin resounded in the air, echoing in their ears.

"Don't you ever say that again, you hear me boy? I loved them more than you could ever hope to know." His tone was eerily calm yet his eyes were filled with extreme hurt. His father never struck him and he felt betrayed, resentment festering. Hades saw the devastation in Nico and began to feel immense guilt. His voice softened to a whisper, "Nico, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" but there was no way Nico could open his mouth without screaming or look his father in the eyes without crying.

The boy quickly left the room, needing to get out as soon as possible. If Hades were anyone else, he would have fought back with crippling blows to the head. He didn't want to attack his father, he couldn't no matter how much he was itching to bruise and break someone or something, just so they could get a taste of his wrath.

Nico stormed out of the house, trampling over whatever was in his way whether it be one of Persephone's creepy garden gnomes or some other decorative item she decided to dump onto their lawn. His house was fairly secluded from the cluster of homes down the road so he had a nice grove of trees to vent under. He punched the trunk of one of them and a shock of pain pulsed through his hand and a stream of curses were flowing through his grit teeth.

With a sneer he shook his hand to relieve it some tension. He wanted to blame the pain on his shitty luck, but he knew better than to blame the universe for his incredibly stupid decision to punch a tree. He instinctively reached into his pockets for a pack of cigarettes but was sorely disappointed to find they weren't there. Hazel insisted he shouldn't have them on his person if he were to attend church and he hadn't bothered to grab a pack when storming out. If he was desperate enough, he would have tailed it back to the house just so he could soothe his nerves with nicotine. Still, he was too bitter to so much as look at that wretched house and that stupid lawn, though.

He opted to just slump onto the ground and just glare at the sky as though it had personally wronged him. With a huff, he sprawled out in the red leaves and tried to think about anything other than his familial issues and cigarettes. His mind meandered from one pointless thought to the next until he noticed one of the clouds looked like a baby crawling. It reminded him of Will who was currently taking care of the doll.

He closed his eyes, sighing through his nose. He didn't want to think of Will at the moment, but it was better than dwelling on the whole proposal predicament. To get his mind off his father, he began thinking of the different places he could take the blond. He had a few ideas and considered them carefully. Then there's the whole issue of why he was in the situation with Will in the first place. It was all his fault no matter how you slice it. Normally he wasn't one to make advances on people, but something was aching and yearning that he couldn't suppress.

Nico shrugged away any forming theories on why he did what he had done. He wasn't some psychologist and exploring emotions with such depth only confused him further. Over analyzing was a messy business that mainly girls tended to do. If he thought about it too much, it would only make things worse. With a deep breath, he determined he was ready to head back home. There was no way he could confront his father anytime soon though. Maybe he should just scale the wall and see if he could reach his balcony from the backside of the house.

By the time he returned, he was thankful to see that his father's car wasn't in the driveway, meaning he had just left. He walked through the front door tentatively, as if there was a chance that Hades would pop out from behind the door. His eyes glanced at the couch he was sitting at not too long ago. The sting from the slap rung in his ears and he had to look away. He had tried to stay calm, he did, but the emotion had bubbled over and turned into a mess. He knew what Hades was going to say, yet he still managed to lose control of his filter.

Hazel wasn't in the living room or kitchen, which meant she had gone upstairs. Reluctantly, he made his way up the staircase and down the hallway to find himself in front of her purple painted door. He knocked on it softly and after not getting a response tried again but firmer. A few moments later the door creaked open, revealing a now more casual dressed Hazel. She had changed out of the dress in favor of warm pajama pants and a worn t-shirt.

She didn't bother saying anything, instead she opened the door wider to let him in. He followed her inside, ashamed of himself and trying to grasp for words. "I shouldn't have let that get out of hand." He said as he sat on the edge of her bed.

"You did overstep a line." Hazel admitted as she twisted a pencil in her hand. On her desk sat a sketchbook and it was open to a blank page. She usually drew when frustrated, sad, or any sort of intense emotion.

"I just wish he wasn't so…" he couldn't find the words, but Hazel nodded in understanding.

"Overwhelmingly fast paced?" She offered.

"Something like that." He sighed, leaning back to lay down. Hazel sat at her desk chair, swiveling back and forth.

"I think," she began, "that as long as we stick together, everything will be okay." She looked out her window wistfully. Nico wanted to argue that No, saying we'll stick together is as controllable as the weather, but he couldn't say that to her, because she was one of the first people to know that.

"Yeah." Was what came out instead.

That night, Hades came home an engaged man.

The next day Nico stood outside the school building, skipping class. He told the teacher he had to 'take a shit' which earned him a scolding before she pardoned him with a 'come straight back.' His nerves were on edge and his cigarette packet grew heavy in his jacket pocket, constantly reminding him of its presence. He had to think of some excuse to get out of there. He wasn't too worried about getting caught, because if he did, that would mean Hades would pay more attention to his protest. Was is wise? Most certainly not, but acting up was one of the best ways to get attention anyway.

Smoke curled from his lips as he stared at the horizon, a seemingly endless stretch of land peppered with houses in the distance. His muscles began to relax, his thoughts drifting to his homeland. He remembered Venice, Italy, where the buildings were crammed close together and where water wove through the island and in some cases if you weren't careful would fall in. The amount of green here was… pleasantly different, but it made him feel even more isolated.

Just as Nico was beginning to get bored and decide to head back inside, he heard scuffling from around the corner.

"C'mon Valdez, it's no fun if you don't put up a fight." Someone, a male, said. Valdez? Where has he heard that name before?

"That's because fags aren't man enough to throw a punch." Someone else jeered, laughing at their own joke.

"Fucking pussy." The first one said, then there was the sound of some sort of struggle and a strangled whimper. "Hold him down for me." The first one said. Suddenly enraged, Nico decided he had heard enough and turned the corner to see a beefy blond cradling the hips of a scrawny Latino and a brunet boy holding down the boy's wrists. The blond was undoing his belt and the boy who Nico recognized as Leo thrashed and screamed but was slapped in the face and told to 'shut up bitch.'

Nico didn't even have to think, it was an automatic response. Before any of the three could notice, Nico's fist came flying at the blond's temple. The brunet jumped away in fear at the Italian's sudden appearance. As Nico pummeled the blond in the face, the second boy began to run. He didn't get far before Nico tackled his legs, causing him to fall face flat and bit his tongue on impact. There was a lot of scuffling, hair pulling, and gut kicking before Nico felt a tug on his sleeve.

All he could think about was his anger towards scum like the person writhing beneath his feet. His blood boiled and bubbled in his veins. So that's what Cecil had meant the other day by _Yes, because I always get a sadistic pleasure from watching people get socked in the face for being gay_. Leo was getting abused because Nico thought it would be funny to plant dick pics of the Latino's computer, it was all his fault.

"Nico, stop, you're going to kill him!" Leo pleaded, pulling at Nico's arm helplessly. After a final kick to the brunet's ribs, the Italian stepped back with a huff, watching the other sob with broken breaths and coughing up blood. Leo was shaking like a leaf and Nico had the urge to reach out and hold him, to reassure him he was safe now, but he knew that touching the other would be a bad idea.

"Are you okay?" He asked the scrawnier boy, and for once the Latino saw genuine concern on Nico.

"Y- yeah." He stuttered out, his hands holding onto his shirt as an anchor. If he didn't hold tight enough he would fall apart. "Tha-thank you." He wouldn't dare look at the bloody people on the ground.

"I'm taking you to the nurse anyway, okay? You can't just go to class after that." Nico reasoned, walking towards the nurse's office.

"Shouldn't we call an ambulance for them?" Leo said, following Nico.

"The nurse can do that." The Italian said nonchalantly. "So was that the first time they tried…" His voice trailed off, unable to continue the sentence.

Leo was quiet for a few moments before saying, "I would always get beaten, but that? That was a first." They were silent as they walked down the school corridor, Nico suddenly having the urge to be protective of the Latino, like a bodyguard. It was a sort of territorial feeling he got when taking care of Hazel. This was his mess and he felt strongly responsible.

When the nurse saw them, she first noticed the tall roughed up foreign student. The next thing she noticed was the scrawnier boy with a busted lip and bruising eye. She ushered them both to sit on the edge of the cot, asking them what had happened as she inspected Leo further. The Latino was shaking less now, but still wouldn't lessen his grip on his shirt. Leo was silent, debating on whether or not he should say something.

"She's going to find out anyway, it's not like she won't piece two and two together." Nico told the other. Leo nodded dazedly as the nurse gave him an ice pack and began writing something on her clipboard. She didn't have to ask for their names, this wasn't the first time she met the two, Leo for being beaten, Nico for doing the beating.

"Chuck and Randy attacked me behind the auditorium and Nico saved me." He summarized, uncomfortable with going into detail. The nurse hummed, moving on to inspect Nico, who was sporting bloody knuckles and a bruising jaw from being punched in the scuffle with the brunet, Randy.

"You're gonna want to call an ambulance, ma'am." Nico replied steely.

"Of course I am." She muttered under her breath as she rubbed alcohol on their wounds. "I'll have someone contact the hospital, you two stay here." She ordered before poking her head into the neighboring secretary office.

"Thank you, again." Leo said quietly, wincing and hissing under his breath as the ice made contact with his tender skin.

"If anyone tries pulling something like that again, get me. You understand?" Nico asked. The Latino nodded, feeling out of place because Nico Di Angelo of all people was offering to be his avenger.

"Hazel said you were a nice guy, and I believe that now. You're not as much of a douche as people say you are." He teased lightly and hesitantly, hoping he wasn't overstepping a line.

"Don't think that just because I saved you I'm going to start being less of an asshole and throw flowers around." Nico gave the other a stern glare, which made the Latino glance away nervously.

"Of course not." He squeaked, afraid to speak again.

"But then again, you're a friend of Hazel's, so I think I'll manage to tolerate you. Maybe then you'll be able to tolerate me, yeah?" Nico offered.

"Yeah." Leo dared to smile, and Nico mirrored him.

 **(Author's Note: That wasn't so bad, yeah? There wasn't a whole lot of Will in this chapter, but there will be next time, promise. Also, I apologize for the long wait for this update, but signing up for AP World was one of the worst decisions, yet rewarding, I've ever made. Just got finished with Classical China *high-fives Frank*)**


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